The East Liverpool & Chester Bridge

Matt - When I started this blog I made a pledged to myself that I would not infringe on any subjects you post on ORL. Up until now I've been faithful to that promise. Howsomever I just could not resist this one. You and J. Frye (Is that Jo?) jogged my memory of this post card that I have in my collection of memorabilia. I've waited a month to post this.

For you dear friends that are wondering what the devil I'm going on about is that on March 26th Matt posted a picture by J. Frye on Ohio River Life of "a stone pier" of the long gone Chester Bridge. That's what we Ohioans called this bridge back when it existed. Wonder what the folks from WV called it? That pier is the sole remnant remaining of the only bridge that for many years spanned the Ohio River from here to Steubenville to the the south and I believe Monaca to the north. The pier on the Ohio side of the river was taken out with the construction of the four lane portion of Rt. 39/11 leading up to the Jennings Randolph Bridge. I'm not sure but I think the bridge pictured here was built before the Newell Bridge. Maybe some of you East Liverpool historians can set me straight on this point.

The picture you see here is of a post card dated 7/31/1908 and post marked East Liverpool, Ohio. The post card was written to Miss Louise Culp, Toronto, Ohio. It has a green one cent stamp with Ben Franklin's picture. It was made in Germany for C.E. Wheelock & Co., Peria, Ill. & Leipzig, which must have been a multi-national company way back then. I have no idea who Miss Culp is or was. The note to her says "Now aren't you sorry that you turned your back on me?" It was unsigned. Wonder what that was all about...

Check out the river boat shanties, I think they were called, along the shore line. I have a vague memory of a Bob Popp Christmas story mentioning them.